Salivary Gland Autotransplantation for Treatment of XRT Induced Xerostomia

The feasibility of in vitro expansion of MSCs derived from marrow aspirates collected from participants will be determined by if they can be culture expanded for up to two weeks to generate >50 million MSCs per donor. Feasibility will reported as the number of participants whose marrow-derived MSCs can be expanded in vitro to > 50 million cells within two weeks.

The University of Michigan Xerostomia related quality of life scale (XeQOL) is a 15-item questionnaire about how a participants oral health affects their life. Each item is scored from 1-5 either 'not at all', 'a little', 'somewhat', 'quite a bit', or 'very much' for a total score of 15-75. Higher scores represent greater degree of symptoms.

The MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) is a 20-item questionnaire about how a participants perceive their swallowing ability. Each item is scored from 'strongly agree', 'agree', 'no opinion', 'disagree', or 'strongly disagree'. One question provides a 'global score between 1-5 where 1 is extremely low functioning and 5 is high functioning. The remaining 19 questions measure a composite score from 20-100 where higher scores represent higher degree of function.

The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) - xerostomia questionnaire is an 8-item questionnaire about how a participant perceives their dry mouth. Each item is visually scored on a sliding scale (100mm in length) between two extremes (Q1 and Q2 from 'not difficult at all' to 'very difficult', Q3 from 'A lot' to 'None', Q4-Q7 from 'Not Dry at All' to 'Very Dry', and Q8 from 'Not Thirsty at All' to 'Very Thirsty'. The participant places a line on the scale to mark their answer. Change between various time points can be determined based on measured distance along the scale for each answer.

Unstimulated saliva production will be measured at two time points by the passive drool method over a 5-minute time frame. Participants will allow saliva to pool in the mouth and, then, with head tilted forward, gently guide saliva into a saliva collection aid attached to a cryovial. Difference in weight of the cryovial empty and after the test will represent the amount of saliva produced.

Stimulated saliva production will be measured at two time points by having participants chew inert gum base to the pace of a metronome (70 beats per minute) while expectorating saliva (without swallowing) into the saliva collection aid for 5 minutes total. Difference in weight of the cryovial empty and after the test will represent the amount of saliva produced.

The size of salivary glands will be measured via ultrasound at baseline and up to 6 months on study.

The secretome profile of MSCs from HNC participants treated with radiation, chemoradiation, or previously untreated will be statistically compared using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The secretome profile of MSCs from HNC participants treated with radiation, chemoradiation, or previously untreated will be statistically compared using and western blots.